Every type of artist has something that makes their craft seem a little more real for them, and in the music industry, this tends to be album cover artwork. There is something uniquely exciting about not only creating your music for the first time, but also seeing it presented with an image to accompany it. However, the cover art isn’t just about making you feel excited. It is important for your fans to find you and remain engaged. Having good cover art can help a lot with brand recognition and with drawing the attention of potential listeners.

For most music listeners, when a new song comes on that they enjoy, the first thing they do is look to see what song it is. Considering the age that we live in, the majority of people will be listening to you on popular streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music or other sites such as YouTube. In either case, the first thing they’ll see when looking at your music, is going to be your cover artwork design.

When a listener views your album artwork, they should find it interesting and professional. It can look different depending on the genre, whether it is a full album, EP, or just based on your personal branding. Chances are if you are looking to make it in dance music, you won’t have album artwork that has been stylized in a way that is often used for hard rock. Regardless of what your actual content is, you want your listeners to see it and approve. This is what will convince them to look into you more.

Though most people think that cover art is just what you’re going to slap on your album or song, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Good cover art is a great branding tool that can be used in several different ways to draw your audience into your world and make them curious about what you might have to offer.

An effective way to use cover art is on your social media accounts. Posting your cover art with an announcement is a great way to immediately give yourself credibility in the eyes of the audience, but it has to be done correctly. The key is to make sure that your album artwork is well designed so people trust your brand. When a band or music artist posts a good piece of album artwork, people are more likely to want to see what their music is all about.

Though it is easy to assume that just posting a piece of album artwork on social media is enough, there are many strategies that you can use with this imagery in order to engage your audience and build excitement. One way is to use the album artwork as a social media header, for example, on your Facebook page. This can be a great tool to pique the interest of those online and make them start setting dates for the big launch. You can send it out again in a post when you announce song titles, or anything else relating to the launch.

The more people who listen to your music at launch, the more likely they will be to share it with friends and start spreading it by word of mouth. Many social media users will also share posts with good album artwork, especially if they already have a reason to be interested in the music. In many cases, your most dedicated followers will help you to spread the word. Having a credible piece of cover art will make more people interested and ready to share.

Unlike logo design, cover art has a much more forgiving design approach. Your album artwork can vary drastically, and in many cases, you can get away with having a lot of detail. This might mean using chaotic art styles or even using complex photography. It might mean using a fancy font that will draw the eye of a listener. You have a lot of creative freedom here that will allow you to think about how you want to present your music and run with it. The real key to success is making sure that it isn’t difficult to read or decipher and that it fits your music. A great way to approach your album artwork is to look at what other major names in the genre are doing and use that as a base for your own designs. You can be more original with it, but you want it to look like it fits.

A professional piece of cover artwork can significantly help your brand and should be approached with the same intensity that you make your music with. While your focus can and should be making good music, it is equally important to make sure that your music is well represented. Think of your cover art as a way to show people why they should listen to you and go from there. Have fun, be creative, and make sure that you do your music justice.

Discovery Music Group works with clients from around the globe, including artists, labels and festivals. We offer a wide range of services tailored towards independent or established/signed artists and brands. With years of experience in many styles of music, our team aims to help grow your music career with our branding, marketing, promotion, and contacts within the industry to take your career to the next level.